Merry Christmas to all of you, my sweets! I hope you're all having a wonderful time with family and friends, and that you're all healthy and safe!
Now, I have a little announcement to make. I will be taking a short break from this story. I promise this doesn't mean I'll abandon it, however after two whole years of nothing except AoT, I need a little break. I've kind of been dragging my feet for the last couple of chapters, and I really don't want to just half-ass the rest of the story just for the sake of getting it out. I want to give you guys the best quality I can give, with each and every chapter. And to do that, I do need a little break; I need to work on something else for a bit, to clear my head and come back to this with a fresh mind.
I'm so grateful for everyone who has stuck with this story so far, and I promise I'll do my best to not keep you guys waiting for too long. With that said, I once again wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year for next week. I hope 2022 will be better than this year was, for all of you! I'll see you soon, my lovelies!
As always my lovelies, go ahead and enjoy this chapter and don't forget to toss me a little review, to let me know what you think~ ;)
P.S. All Attack on Titan characters belong to Isayama Hajime. I only own my OCs.
43. Played for a fool
~ 854 ~
~ Earlier that day: Noon ~
"Will you stop staring like that?" Gabi yawned obnoxiously, looking up from her book to find Falco still looking outside through the open flap of the tent. "It's just Yelena with a few of her Volunteers."
"I got a bad feeling... why are they here?" the blond muttered, as though he hadn't even heard her comment.
"Earth to Falco!" the girl called out again, grabbing his pillow and throwing it at the back of his head. "Stop being creepy!"
Startled from his contemplation, he eventually gave in and crawled back to his bedding to put the pillow in its place. Sighing in the face of how he was staring pensively at the grass between their beds, Gabi closed the book and rolled onto her side to face him properly, her curiosity piqued by his odd behavior.
"Alright, what sort of weird idea did you come up with this time?"
"I'm just curious—why are Yelena and her men here? They're not soldiers."
"Huh? What the hell are you on about? Of course they're soldiers! They trained just like everyone else."
"No, I mean they're not trained to fight Titans like the Scouts. So why are they here to guard us while Captain Levi and his team are away?"
"Did you hit your head? There are no more Titans on the island; did you forget what Mr. Zeke said? They sealed the gate Reiner and Bertholdt smashed nine years ago and then eradicated all the Titans on Paradis."
"So then, what are they guarding us from?"
"Probably those Scouts who went crazy and deserted." she shrugged. "And because they don't trust us not to run away, the first chance we get."
The sound of footsteps outside the back of their tent interrupted Falco's attempt to reply, and prompted both of them to perk up.
"Why did the Captain order that creepy bitch and her lackeys to stay here while he's gone?"
Recognizing the voice of one of the Scouts on Lobov's team, the kids exchanged a look and crawled closer to the leathery barrier separating them from the outside to listen.
"Didn't you hear? It wasn't the Captain who ordered it." a second male voice replied; another of Lobov's men, that Gabi and Falco by now recognized. "She waltzed in here, waving a letter signed by Zackley that she and her team would replace Levi Squad while they attended the meeting with the Queen and got supplies from Trost."
"What the hell is the Premier thinking, letting a bunch of outsiders join this mission?"
"Oskar said the Captain was pretty pissed about it, but there was nothing he could do. The guys seem alright, but that bitch gives me the creeps with those dead eyes."
With another of the Scouts calling out to the two to let them know it was lunchtime, Falco and Gabi listened to their footsteps fading.
"It's not our business." Gabi concluded. "Let's just go eat."
Sitting up, she crawled over to the tent entrance, looking back upon realizing Falco hadn't followed.
"Falco!" she called out, startling him out of his thoughts, her next words stressed with a warning tone. "Let's go eat."
"Hey, you two. It's lunchtime." one of the Scouts said, approaching their tent as if on cue. "Come and eat while it's hot."
Though she offered no reply to the man, Gabi reached back to grab Falco by the arm and drag him outside with her. Once out in the sun-speckled shade, Falco looked over to where Yelena was still seated with her men and two of the Scouts, apparently having some important conversation.
"Come on." Gabi startled him again, tugging on his arm to pull him along to where the rest of the Scouts had gathered for their meal.
He could see Reiner sitting among them, looking more or less uncomfortable, and Zeke next to him, about as relaxed as ever. With them joining the group, the two Scouts in charge of preparing that meal had just started handing out portions when one of them perked up, looking around.
"Where are Josef and Anton?"
Doing a quick headcount, Falco realized the men in question had to be the two Scouts he had seen talking to Yelena. That was his chance to listen in on what they were saying. Normally he wouldn't have suspected one of Zeke's allies, but he'd had a bad feeling about her since their meeting with the Queen. Jumping to his feet, he shoved his bowl into Gabi's hands and bolted off across the camp.
"I know where they are. I'll tell them!" he called out over his shoulder.
Taking advantage that the meeting place where Yelena and the others were gathered was out of sight of the meal area, he snuck behind the tent he shared with Gabi.
'I know Gabi doesn't trust the Scouts, but I do. They don't seem like bad people; at the very least they're better than the Marleyans.' he reassured himself, recalling that Eren and Natalie had essentially saved him and Gabi from Liberio and had never harmed them, even when Gabi had nearly killed one of their leaders.
Then, getting to spend some time in that forest with them, he was starting to see why Zeke and Reiner had betrayed Marley and sided with Paradis. If anything, he had to prove that he and Gabi were also of the same opinion—more importantly, that they were useful. He doubted the Scouts had time for dead weight, just like any military organization.
"It's all good with Floch and the others, but I'm concerned about those two they captured."
The voice he heard made him freeze in the underbrush he had crawled into, trying to get as close as possible without alerting them to his presence. A few more centimeters and he could now see the group seated nearby. Again, he stopped all motion, barely even breathing in his attempt to remain unseen.
"If they blab about it, it won't take long for Commander Erwin to put things together." one of the two Scouts commented in response to the first statement.
"We'll just have to make sure those two don't talk, then—permanently." one of the Volunteers shrugged.
"Do you think they interrogated those two already?" another Volunteer inquired, looking over to Yelena.
"No, word would have leaked out, if they had." she shook her head, before sighing lightly. "We're in a bit of a pinch here. That tiny bitch won't just lie down and die, and until she's in a casket, all we did in Liberio to force Paradis' hand will have been for nothing. However, Floch and his gang did at least manage to splatter the Marley leadership all over that plaza, even if they failed to take Natalie out. We'll have to put a little faith in them. Is everything ready for rescuing Zeke?" she finished, looking over to the Scouts.
'I was right!' Falco realized, much to his horror, covering his mouth with both hands to avoid any gasp of air coming out. 'She's been in on this whole thing from the start. Even if Mr. Zeke had agreed with killing the military leaders, I'm sure he wouldn't have done that at the expense of innocent people! Did he... even know about this?'
"It's ready." the second Scout nodded. "We're just waiting for Floch to make his move. It should happen—"
'I have to warn them!' Falco resolved, trying to crawl back the way he had come, only to freeze when his coat caught onto one of the thin branches, breaking it with a loud snap.
"Who's there?" one of the Scouts called out.
Before he could regain his bearings, Falco felt a pair of hands grab onto him to pull him out of the bush. He could now feel the sting where the branches had scratched his face and was grateful none of them had damaged his eyes.
"Falco. Fancy seeing you here." Yelena greeted him with her usual smile that never failed to send a cold shiver down his spine.
"The hell were you doing in there, kid?!" the Volunteer who had grabbed him demanded.
When all he could do was to stare at them in terror, Yelena's humor slowly faded.
"Falco, you didn't hear anything you shouldn't have, did you?" she asked, crouching to be at his eye level and sighing again after examining his expression. "You did. I didn't know you to be such a naughty child."
Standing, she ruffled his hair a bit too forcefully while the Volunteer held his arms behind his back in an iron grip.
"But you're a big boy now, aren't you?" she smiled again, causing his entire body to break out into goosebumps. "Since you like to play adult games, like spying on people, I'll treat you like an adult. You're clearly not as stupid as Gabi believes you to be, and you're resourceful. I'm sure you already know what your options here are; you're a smart boy after all. Either you tell the Scouts you've been requested to help with an engineering project that requires someone of your stature and come with us..." at that she made a pregnant pause, her smile again fading and her tone losing all warmth, while Falco felt her hand clenching in his hair. "...or it's the end of the line for you right here, right now."
"Wh-why should I believe that you'll let me live, if I go with you?" the boy protested, taking a moment to try and swallow the knot in his throat.
"Don't test us, boy." the Volunteer holding him scowled. "This is a more than generous offer."
"I-I could just scream right now and alert everyone."
He was partially bluffing, not because he couldn't scream but because he knew they wouldn't let him; that the moment the sound started coming out, they would cover his mouth or slit his throat to quiet him.
"Do it and I'll slit your fucking throat." the man growled, twisting his right arm harder until—with a pop that made his heart skip a beat—pain shot up his arm.
As he had predicted, the moment he opened his mouth to shout in pain, Yelena covered it with her hand, muffling his cry.
"What did you do?" she frowned at his captor.
"Guess I must've twisted his wrist or something." he shrugged while loosening his grasp just a bit, clearly not impressed by the tears streaming down Falco's face.
As if on cue, the bushes nearby rustled and the entire group was left staring at Gabi, shooting up onto her feet. Her hands were raised to show she wasn't holding any weapons, but her murderous scowl said more than enough for Yelena to realize she had been listening for a while.
"There's no need for this." she said, looking over to Falco's terrified expression and then back to Yelena. "We'd be of more use to you here as spies, you know that. I never trusted the Scouts, and Falco will do as I say; even a total idiot like him knows I'm always right, so he always does what I tell him to. We can keep you informed of what happens here, if you can rescue Reiner and us too, along with Mr. Zeke."
"You really think we'll believe you fucking brats?" another of the Volunteers scoffed.
"Well, you can believe me or not, I don't give a shit." Gabi retorted, her eyes never leaving Yelena's. "My point is you take this deal, or I'll scream my lungs out right now and alert everyone." she promised, speaking again just when that same Volunteer had opened his mouth to argue. "Don't even test me, you limp dick! You haven't heard how loud I can scream! Besides, they know Falco and I came looking for you specifically. So you do as I say, or I'll get you into more trouble than you've ever known!"
For a few moments longer, she and Yelena silently stared each other down until the blonde chuckled and removed her hand from Falco's mouth.
"I see why Magath liked you; you drive hard bargains. But you're right. You two will be more useful to us as informants, at least for now." she said, gesturing for her subordinate to release the boy, in turn prompting Gabi to leap forth to grab him and pull him away from them. "Well then, no need to make such a tremendous fuss over an accident. We were just helping the poor boy up after he fell and sprained a wrist."
"Y-yeah... thanks." Falco spat out in wake of Gabi's warning glare.
While Yelena and her crew joined the others for lunch, Gabi dragged Falco back to their tent before heading over to ask for some medical supplies. Assuring the Scouts that he had just fallen and hurt himself, she received a first-aid kit which she took with her. She had just settled outside the tent on the grass to tend to Falco's wrist, when Reiner startled both of them when he arrived with their now cold food portions.
"You should be more careful, Falco." he scolded the boy, taking a seat next to them and reaching out to ruffle his hair.
Looking around carefully to make sure no one was within earshot, Gabi decided it was the perfect opportunity to get Reiner in on the loop. They needed at least some adults knowing about it, if they were to avoid getting killed.
"Reiner. Don't react in any way to what I'm about to say. Yelena's watching." she said, turning her attention back to Falco's wrist and knowing from the way the hairs on her neck stood that she had her cousin's full attention. "Falco didn't fall. Yelena and the others were threatening to kill him when I found them. That jerk Lorenz twisted his wrist. I convinced them we'll stay here as informants, so they'd let us go."
"Wha—" the shifter sucked in a breath, his eyes darting back to the boy seated at his side.
"I overheard them talking about Floch and the others." Falco chimed in. "She and the Volunteers have been in on the Liberio bombing from the start. At least the ones who are here with her; and those two Scouts—Josef and Anton—they're on Floch's side too."
For a long moment silence hung heavy over them while Gabi finished wrapping Falco's wrist.
"I want to tell Captain Levi about this." the boy concluded, frowning at the bandages.
"What are you, stupid?" Gabi hissed. "He'll never believe you! We should tell Mr. Zeke."
"I don't trust him." he argued. "He's the one who brought Yelena into his plot of betraying Marley. We don't know if he was in on the whole thing or not. We'd just be blowing our covers if we told him and it turned out he's on Yelena's side."
"You're really just going to walk up to Levi—Levi of all people—and tell him all this?" she scolded him. "How do you imagine he'll react? He'll just lump us in with the rest of them and kill us."
"Alright, stop arguing about it." Reiner intervened after thinking it over. "First off, Captain Levi wouldn't just straight up kill you like that. Second, Falco; you should tell him about this. We decided to be on their side—we might as well start acting like it."
"But—" Gabi protested.
"I'll talk to the War Chief." he promised. "I'll see if he's trustworthy or not before I tell him what happened. Meanwhile, you two stop sticking your noses where they don't belong."
At that, he again ruffled Falco's hair, picking up the food and handing it to both children.
"Now finish your meals and don't say another word of this until Captain Levi gets back."
=0=0=
~ Earlier that day: Afternoon ~
The convoy had just arrived, not an hour after Yelena and her party had left the campsite. Upon hearing the commotion from where they had been sitting in their tent, Gabi and Falco exchanged a glance before hurrying to look outside.
"Falco!" she called out when he scrambled to his feet and made a beeline for where he had spotted Eren helping to unload the supply crates.
But he was no longer paying her any mind, his only line of thought being to find Levi or Natalie among the group. Upon approaching, however, and recalling how tall Eren was compared to him, he lost his nerve and stood there for a bit, fidgeting as he tried to work up the courage to call out to the Scout. To his fortune, Eren nearly ran straight into him upon turning around, almost tripping on his own feet and just barely managing to avoid hitting the boy in the forehead with the crate.
"Oi, be more careful, will you? I could've seriously hurt you right now." he frowned, moving to walk past only to feel Falco grab onto one of the belts around his torso, drawing his gaze.
"Uh, um... c-can I... ask you something?" he gulped, only speaking again after Eren nodded. "Um, C-Cap—is Captain Levi not... with you?"
"The Captain and Natalie had to stay back in Trost a while longer. Why?"
"Uh, I—" he gulped again, clenching his jaw to gather his courage before an idea struck him out of nowhere.
If Levi and Natalie were both away—did that mean Yelena had had something to do with it? Had she somehow made it so they would have to be away? It made sense... Levi was strong enough to defend the camp against any threats; he had no doubt about that. It made sense she would want him away, but did that mean the attack would happen that very same day?
"You okay, kid?" Eren asked, seeing the way his eyes widened like saucers.
"I need to talk to you, right now... alone!" he whispered urgently.
At first, Eren could only blink at Falco, surprised by the insistence in his tone. Then his eyes went down to where the boy was still holding onto the strap, his knuckles white from how hard he was squeezing the leather. Partly out of sheer curiosity, partly because his intuition could sense something was amiss, he looked around for a moment until he spotted Connie was free.
"Oi, can you take this for me?" he called out, prompting his teammate to approach them.
"Yeah. Is something wrong?" Connie inquired, looking at Falco's more or less failed attempt at a calm expression.
"Kid just wants to know more about our new gear." Eren replied, letting his hand plop down onto Falco's head.
While Connie shook his head with a chuckle and left them to it, Eren again glanced around to make sure no one was paying them any heed, before lowering his hand to Falco's shoulder and pulling him along further into the forest, away from camp. Once he was certain they couldn't be seen anymore, he turned his attention back to Falco, who looked as skittish as a rabbit.
"Well? What is it?"
"Do you happen to know why the Captain had to stay back?"
"No... why?" Eren inquired, narrowing his eyes and frowning at the thought that there was something else going on, his gaze going down to the bandages. "What happened to your wrist?"
"I overheard Yelena talking earlier and—"
"Yelena?" Eren blinked. "Why was she here?"
At his question Falco only stared at him in horror; had Yelena lied about having permission to visit their campsite?
"Falco." Eren called out, crouching and taking hold of his shoulders. "What happened here?"
At last the boy regained his wits and told him everything: from overhearing Yelena and her Volunteers talking to the two Scouts, to them threatening and injuring him, to Gabi getting him out of their hands and them telling Reiner about it, to how the shifter had encouraged him to warn Levi about the coming ambush.
"I think... but I'm not sure, but I think Yelena might have had something to do with the Captain and Natalie not being here now." he concluded, panting as he had spoken nearly without drawing any breath.
"Alright, calm down for now." Eren replied. "The Captain and Natalie should be back before dark. I want you and Gabi to stay in the tent and not come out, unless someone you know is there with you, alright? That way, even if they do attack, your tent is out of the way. If they're going for Zeke, then they'll go for me, too. I'll make sure to keep them away from you and Gabi, I promise."
He almost sighed in relief when his reassuring smile seemed to soothe some of Falco's anxiety, and he saw the boy's expression taking a calmer turn.
'They really are good people. I just hope Gabi will see it too, someday.' he mused, both relieved and touched by the idea that these strangers—their enemies—were so willing to look after them; that Reiner had been right to want to join their side.
All of a sudden, their predicament didn't seem so bleak anymore; at the very least Natalie and Eren seemed to genuinely care about their safety, though he had a hunch the others did as well even if they didn't show it as directly.
"Should we... tell the others?" he finally asked.
"No. If they do try to ambush us and they see everyone on high alert, it'll just convince them not to attack. We need them to attack, if we're going to capture them."
"But isn't that too risky?"
"Some Scouts' lives are more important than others." Eren chuckled, quoting what Levi had told them time and again. "Only those crazy enough to acknowledge that join the Survey Corps. They'll understand that this is our best strategy, and they would've done the same in my place."
Standing, he looked back at Falco's worried expression and reached down to grab his shoulder and pull him along.
"Don't worry about them, Falco. They survived impossible odds."
~ oOo ~
~ Evening ~
Daylight was steadily fading, and the forest had grown nearly pitch black by now, the twilit sky lit by the last rays of the dying sun, unable to pierce through the thick canopy any longer. Having been the first of his team to finish his dinner, Eren had announced he was taking up that guarding shift.
"Make sure you get to bed after you eat, you brats." he said when passing by Falco and Gabi, reaching down to ruffle their hair and causing the girl to try smacking his hand away. "Little kids like you shouldn't be up too late."
While a few of the other Scouts were preparing to join him up in the trees around camp for their shift, Falco's eyes were glued to Eren's back as he headed for the edge of the campsite from where he could climb to his post.
'Be careful, Mr. Jaeger.'
After dinner he had dragged Gabi back to their tent, and only then told her about what Eren had said earlier. He couldn't tell how long they lied in their beds, unable to sleep and listening intently even though nothing seemed to be happening. For the longest time, all they could hear were the Scouts around the camp talking, sometimes laughing at some joke, their voices mixed with the sounds of nightly critters coming out as the day ended.
At the same time, Falco couldn't help feeling reassured that Eren was aware of everything. He couldn't tell why, but he was certain that if anyone could handle a surprise attack in Levi's absence, it was Eren.
"Do you really think they'll attack tonight?" Gabi asked eventually, in a hushed tone.
"I think they might; I just have a terrible feeling, now that Captain Levi and Natalie aren't here."
"Aren't they supposed to be coming back by now? Unless they're too busy sucking face somewhere."
"Huh? I-I don't think—"
"Oh please, as if you couldn't tell they're together, the way they keep touching or staring at each other any chance they get." she rolled her eyes. "Anyway... my point is that they were supposed to be back by now."
"That's what Mr. Jaeger said, but I don't know." Falco replied, grateful that the dark was hiding his burning cheeks. "If it was Yelena's doing, they have no idea what happened here today. At least Vice-Chief Braun knows too, and maybe Mr. Zeke, if he told him. So at least they'll be on their guard."
Indeed, though Reiner hadn't told him anything, Zeke too had suspected something was afoot ever since Yelena had shown up at their camp that morning. He and Reiner were still sitting by the fire, the younger shifter chatting with Connie and Sasha, while Zeke read one of the novels they had brought back from Trost. But he could tell they were both tense, that there was this eerie unease floating on the air, making the hairs on his neck stand.
'Where are you, Levi?' he couldn't help wondering, his eyes roaming the blackness beneath the trees that their fires couldn't penetrate. 'Why aren't you here?'
He knew Yelena had lied about having permission to visit them; he knew firsthand just how good she was at forging papers and signatures. And he didn't buy it for one second that Falco had just tripped and sprained his wrist. It was more than clear to him that she was planning something, and the knot in his stomach told him he was right to be anxious. The atmosphere was far too similar to a battlefield where he and Reiner could do nothing but wait to be ambushed after willingly walking into it to throw off their enemies.
=0=0=
"Captain!"
The knock at the door and the voice coming from the hallway startled both Levi and Natalie, just as the Captain was finishing adjusting his gear. He had refused to go take another shower, claiming they had no time to waste, and had only wiped his face and torso with the cloth from his washbasin. And that had unsettled Natalie more than anything, knowing how adamant he was about hygiene. If he was in that kind of hurry, what in the world was happening? Then the knock came, and she watched as he opened the door to reveal one of their comrades informing him that Erwin wanted to see him.
"Did he say why?" the Captain inquired, contemplating whether he could afford to waste the time it would take to see the man.
"Only something about wanting a report, sir."
"I don't have time for this." Levi huffed. "Tell him he'll get his report tomorrow; that Natalie and I are heading back to the campsite. Tell him I'm really worried about those brats."
"Y-yes, sir." the Scout blinked in confusion, saluting and taking off down the hallway.
He could only hope Erwin would understand from the unusual concern expressed in his message that he suspected something was amiss. With no further delay, he led Natalie to the stables where they took to saddling their horses.
"Levi, what's going on?" the redhead asked, while adjusting the harness on Ran. "I've seen you having nightmares before, but not like this. And I've seen you agitated and anxious before, but not like this."
"Not here." he replied, checking one more time that the saddle was properly strapped to Ada before he grabbed the reins to lead her out of her pen.
Nodding when he at last looked at her, Natalie followed his lead and together they made their way as fast as they could through the district. Even after they passed the inner gate and spurred their horses to a gallop, he said nothing until he was certain they were in the middle of nowhere.
"I have a really bad feeling about tonight." he finally confessed, over the air whipping past their ears as they pushed the horses as fast as the beasts could go. "I think I finally understand how you felt all those times you said it; with Karl... at Shiganshina... in Liberio..."
His words—and more than that, the dread she had never before heard in his tone—left her staring at him with a horrified expression.
"You think—Floch? Tonight?!"
"If anything happens to those brats and I'm not there—" he spat out to himself, clenching his jaw and gripping the reins until his knuckles bled white.
He would forever blame himself for it, Natalie knew. He would bear that burden of guilt for the rest of his life, and she would bear it right alongside him for being the one who had convinced him to delay their departure.
"They'll be fine!" she said, though it sounded more like she was trying to reassure herself than Levi. "They learned from you—from the best! They survived the most impossible odds! They'll survive this as well!"
But on the inside, she too was a ball of anxiety, just like him. Over the years, those kids had become such an irreplaceable part of her life that she could no longer imagine not having them around. Just as she knew that Levi felt exactly the same about them, and that it would destroy him the same as her to lose any one of them.
~ oOo ~
How many hours had it been of them lying awake in that tent? Falco couldn't tell with only the sound of his drumming heartbeat and Gabi's breaths for company. He had tried counting her breaths—for lack of anything else—in a failed attempt to lull himself to sleep, while high above the camp Floch's team was getting in position, flare guns at the ready. The tension in the air was palpable; it seemed like the forest itself was on edge, for unlike other nights, it had now grown quiet... too quiet.
He had tried squeezing his eyes shut, distracting himself with thoughts of his family, with thoughts of training, with thoughts of the battle at Fort Slava—nothing had worked to calm him down. He knew Eren was nearby, up in the canopy, hidden amidst branches and leaves, watching over them. Or maybe that was just wishful thinking. Maybe he was on the very other side of camp. And yet some tiny voice in his head—he could have sworn for a split second that it had sounded like a girl's voice—told him that Eren was watching over them. That they were safe, that no harm would come to them, that Levi and Natalie would make it in time.
Those thoughts at last gave him enough peace of mind that he felt his eyelids growing heavier by the minute. When the first blast echoed high over their heads, he thought he had fallen asleep and was dreaming, until Gabi started frantically shaking him.
"Falco, wake the fuck up! They're here!" she whisper-yelled at him.
Instantly awake, he sat up and together they crawled to the very back of the tent as far away from the closed flap as possible, while outside, blast after blast filled the gathering night. It was only when the acrid stench of smoke reached him that he felt a surge of panic. Had they set fire to the entire camp? With more and more smoke seeping into their tent, they started coughing, grabbing a blanket to cover their mouths and noses.
"We need to get out of here!" Gabi spat out.
"And go where? Mr. Jaeger said to stay put in the tent, where they won't see us."
"We're going to suffocate in here!" she scowled, grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking him between coughing fits. "Is this how you want to die?!"
Knowing she was right, Falco could only resign himself to the idea that they would have to hide in the forest nearby and hopefully be able to return once it was over. Once he nodded, Gabi told him to help her lift the back of the tent so they could crawl out, hopefully unseen by anyone. It was only outside, when they stood, that they saw the smoke that had engulfed the entire campsite. Already they could hear shouts and swords clashing, as well as gunshots, echoing amidst the trees.
=0=0=
'Where are you, you fucking traitors?' Eren gritted his teeth for what felt like the hundredth time since he had taken up his post in the tree.
In an attempt to turn their element of surprise on them, he had pulled the hood of his cape up all the way until it overshadowed his eyes. For a moment, he tore his gaze away from the forest and looked down. Far below him, several good meters away from his tree to the left, was the kids' tent, and his scowl deepened at the thought of how scared they probably were. However, he fully intended to keep his word to Falco that he wouldn't let any harm come to them.
At the same time, he couldn't deny the pang of anxiety he had to consciously suppress before it overtook him. He had talked a big game in front of the kid and dearly hoped he wouldn't fail. To an extent, he was grateful that Natalie wasn't there, knowing she would just have a huge target on her back, but with Levi gone, he couldn't help feeling somewhat apprehensive. Every noise, no matter how small, made him jump and check his surroundings—fortunately, most times it only turned out to be some woodland critter, or nightly bird, and other times just his imagination.
Below him and to the right was the campfire, where he could see Zeke and Reiner sitting with Connie and Sasha. For a while he split his attention between them and the forest, listening to the faint echoes of their conversation. But then he perked up involuntarily at a familiar sound coming from above him—the cocking of a flare gun—that had no reason to be a part of the scenery.
'They're—'
Before he could even finish his thought, he heard the blast and saw the green trail as the shell raced towards an empty spot on the ground, exploding into a smoke screen. Then another blast answered across the campsite from his position, then another and another. In total, five shells landed in their camp, turning the visibility down to near-zero and he lost sight of everyone on the ground. His momentary hesitation—as he wondered whether to go get the kids out of camp, or go down to Zeke whom he was certain was Floch's target—blindsided him to Benjamin swinging in from above, until the man had an arm around his throat.
Around the fire, Sasha and Connie leaped to their feet at the first gunshot. Instructing Connie to go find Jean or Mikasa, the female Scout turned back to pick up a rifle from behind the log she had been sitting on, checking to make sure it was loaded.
"You two try not to move." she said to the shifters. "Maybe it's best to just lie on the ground to avoid any bullets."
With that, she stepped into the thick smoke without hesitation, trying her best to not choke on it in search of her teammates. They needed to organize, if they were going to fend off their attackers, whom she by now was sure had to be Floch and his team.
'Maybe I should just go up a tree and catch them off guard. I'm sure Jean would say the same thing.' she pondered, soon passing by Armin, Mikasa, and Connie.
As usual, the brunette seemed perfectly calm, and she was just telling Connie that they should find Jean and come up with a strategy.
"I'll send him to you." Sasha said in a low tone, before heading off in the direction she recalled last seeing him.
In the thick smoke it took her longer than she would have liked until she at last heard his voice, ordering part of the Scouts to spread around camp and be cautious for surprise attacks. A few more steps and she saw him; she was just about to call his name when her body clenched up with a feeling as familiar to her as breathing—a hidden threat.
"Above."
Before even processing if she had actually heard that word, or if it had been only in her mind, her eyes darted to the branch hanging a few meters above him. A hooded figure was crouched there, his gun pointed at Jean's back. Acting on sheer instinct, she raised the rifle, took aim and shot, the bullet hitting her target in the eye and going out the back of his skull. While her victim fell to the ground a few steps away from the Scout, she rushed over to check if he was alright.
"Thanks." Jean nodded, taking a deep breath to calm down from the scare she'd given him with that unexpected gunshot.
Walking over to push the hood off, after his gaze briefly went to the gun firmly clasped in their comrade's hand, he pressed his lips together in annoyance—Josef.
"How did you know?" he asked, turning to Sasha.
"I... don't know. But I saw him pointing the gun at you."
At her reply, his eyes widened as a horrible realization dawned on him: some of their men were in cahoots with Floch!
"Get up in the trees and be careful that you don't get attacked." he ordered, as she had expected. "Try your best to just disable them, but if you think it's too risky, then kill them. They'll get the noose anyway, even if we only catch them."
"Got it. Armin and the others are over there."
Nodding when she pointed him in their direction, his mind still racing as he now tried to recall if anyone else had acted suspiciously among their men, Jean reached out to grab Sasha's shoulder when the young woman tried to walk past him.
"Thank you." he said again, emotion underlining his words now that he had processed she had actually saved his life.
With an encouraging smile, she reached up to pat his hand before taking off and vanishing into the darkness, leaving him to regroup with the rest of their squad.
=0=0=
Left alone at the fire pit, the two shifters exchanged a glance as the camp grew more and more restless around them.
"War Chief—"
"Get Gabi and Falco." Zeke replied, closing the book and pulling the shirt over his mouth and nose. "Hide them outside of camp and stay with them."
"What about you?"
"They're likely after me, and maybe Eren. So I'll stay here as bait. The Scouts will keep me safe."
With a hesitant nod, Reiner moved to his feet and vanished into the smoke toward the kids' tent. Now by himself, Zeke reached for a stick and stirred the burning wood. He had noticed from the first blast that the currents of air around the flames partially kept the smoke at bay, and having Floch find him while he was struggling to breathe was a less than appealing prospect.
He couldn't tell how long he sat there, listening to the shouts and the swords clashing and the occasional gunshot. From time to time, he again stirred the fire to keep the smoke relatively thin around himself, but he couldn't deny he was tense. He had decided for now that he would stick with the Survey Corps and his younger brother, and had little hope that Floch could be swayed by reason. The fact that he had tried killing Natalie was possibly the hardest proof of that; just from their limited encounters, he knew that if anyone could have swayed him, it would have been her.
"There you are!"
The familiar voice of the redhead drew his eyes to the Scout just as he emerged from the smoke on the other side of the fire pit.
"I should have guessed you'd stay out in the open, where we could find you easily. Sorry, I should have come looking here first. Come on, we have to go before all this smoke dissipates. Do you know where Eren is? We can take him with u—"
"And why would I do that?"
The shifter's calm reply and his equally undisturbed stare left Floch at a loss for words, for what seemed like the longest time.
"This isn't funny, we're running out of time." he frowned. "Yelena found a safe house for you to lie low for a while until the Survey Corps' investigation will end."
"See, this is where you got the wrong idea." Zeke replied after another long pause, again stirring the fire. "I don't follow Yelena's orders... if not for me, Yelena wouldn't even be alive today. If you believe she gets to boss me around, you're sorely mistaken."
"What are you saying?"
At that, Floch turned to properly face him, his frown deepening. And then Zeke's next response left him staring wide-eyed at the shifter.
"I'm saying Yelena doesn't decide what I do, or which side I'm on—I'm the only one who decides that. I happen to quite enjoy my stay with Scouts, for the moment."
He could only stall Floch for so long and sorely hoped someone would think to check the fire pit. But then he saw the growing realization in the redhead's eyes, as well as the anger mounting, and when his hand twitched, Zeke knew he was about to do something drastic. His jaw clenched when he saw Floch take hold of the gun attached to his gear, but his stare never relented.
"Don't fucking mess with me!" Floch made a last attempt. "Yelena assured us that you wanted this to happen."
"Did she, now? I'm sorry to disappoint, but she never bothered to ask me what I wanted to do, or what my plan was. It seems to me that she played you for a fool. How long has she been doing this with you? Since before Liberio, I'm guessing."
Another gunshot echoed somewhere to the right of them, this one followed by the distinct neigh of an injured horse, then a second shot and a shout of pain, and Zeke internally jerked in surprise. But Floch seemed unperturbed by all of that, too angry to care.
'That bitch! I knew it was a bad move to trust her. Not like we had much choice with the Liberio business, but this—' he pondered, his muscles twitching from how irate he was. 'Fine! If she's going to be a traitorous bitch, then I'll hit her where it hurts most! We still have Eren.'
Seeing the gun leveled at his forehead, Zeke had to will himself with every fiber of his being to not move, to not give Floch the satisfaction of seeing that he was afraid of death, just like anyone else. For a split second that seemed to stretch on to eternity, he was left staring at the Scout who was about to take his life, while everything slowed down around him.
"Then you're no use to us alive." the Scout concluded.
He saw the exact moment when Floch's finger tensed on the trigger, and for some reason his mind started counting down the seconds.
And then, out of the smoke... he couldn't at first tell what had happened, or why Floch was screaming in pain, or what that glint of steel had been. But as he slowly caught up to what he had witnessed, his mind replayed the sight of a blade flying out of the green fume, slicing through the gun and taking part of Floch's finger with it.
"Scaring the kids while dad's away from home, are we?" came the Captain's sarcastic tone just before he stepped out of the thick smoke.
=0=0=
They had almost reached the borders of the forest when the blasts echoing from within startled them both. The sight of green smoke rising from amidst the trees a few moments later served to further put them on edge, and they spurred the horses into the growing shadows. They were still a fair distance from the campsite when the acrid stench of flare smoke reached them, causing the horses to snort uneasily. The pathway they had cut through the underbrush for the supply carts now proved to be invaluable, allowing them to gallop straight into camp and into the thick of the fumes.
"Be careful!" the Captain ordered, already hearing the redhead cough.
They couldn't see anyone, only hearing the shouts and telltale sounds of battle. He was about to dismount when one of the Scouts landed in front of them. For a split second, he thought it was one of their men, but when his hood fell back, Levi recognized Julian. His initial scowl turned to a wide-eyed frown when the man immediately leveled his gun at Natalie and fired without hesitation. Only the sound of Ran's painful neigh and the sight of him falling over made Levi realize the stallion had reared and taken the shot for her.
On sheer reflex, he aimed his own pistol at the traitor and pulled the trigger, seeing the blood spray from the Scout's head as the bullet pierced it. Immediately leaping out of the saddle, he threw himself on his knees next to the redhead, who was trying to free her leg from where it was pinned beneath her horse.
"Hold on, I'll get you out in a minute."
He too felt the tickle in the back of his throat, but Natalie seemed to have a worse time handling the smoke and he wanted to take care of that first. Removing his cravat, he wrapped it over her nose and mouth, tying it behind her head. Only then did he hook his arms beneath hers and freed her, drawing a painful grunt from her.
"Go check on—" she pleaded, but Levi was already on his way to check Ran's injury.
'Shit!' he scowled, knowing from the generously pouring blood that the stallion likely wouldn't survive it.
In the few seconds it took for him to return to her side, he had already decided on what to say.
'I'm sorry, but I can't have you distracted right now.' he mused, before finally speaking. "He'll be fine, but we need to move. Can you stand?"
"In a bit." Natalie nodded. "I think it was just a sprain."
Her sigh of relief broke his heart, and he moved to kneel behind her to let her lean against him while her leg healed. And he couldn't help the way he squeezed her in his arms, couldn't help feeling like a monster for lying to her. But the same was true that he could not bear to lose her because of her being distracted.
"What about you?" she asked, looking up at him, and the feeling of her fingers on his cheek nearly startled him.
"A little smoke won't put me down." the Captain retorted. "Listen, I know you're worried about those two brats, so you go check on them; I'll find the others. Just be careful; you know they're after your ass."
"Yeah." she sighed. "I'll be careful, I promise. I think I'm good to go."
Expelling a long breath, he buried his lips in her hair and pressed a kiss to the side of her head before pulling her back to her feet. For but a moment he watched her until she disappeared into the smoke, heading for the location of the kids' tent, before he too moved into camp, heading for the fire pit to see if he could get his bearings from there. He had to be close, because he could feel the smoke thinning out, when he halted at the sound of Floch's voice.
"Then you're no use to us alive."
Peering through the rarefied fumes, he spotted the redhead standing by the fire, his gun aimed at Zeke's head. Retrieving one hilt, he pulled a blade out of the sheath; he wasn't close enough to make it in time and physically stop him, so he would have to rely on good aim. Without a second thought, he pulled his arm back and pressed the release button on the hilt at the peak of his throw, watching the blade twist through the air until it sliced Floch's gun in half, taking the tip of his finger with it.
While he screamed in pain and staggered back, the Captain withdrew a second blade and at last stepped into the circle of light cast by the fire, a murderous scowl on his face.
"Scaring the kids while dad's away from home, are we?"
But all Floch did was to burst into laughter after looking around, sending an icy finger tracing along his spine.
"Let me guess... your little bitch went to check on the kids, huh?" he grinned, even while holding his injured hand. "Am I really the one you should be worried about right now?"
Realizing it had all been a ploy, at the same time when Zeke came to that conclusion, they both turned toward the tent at the edge of camp. With the constantly dissipating smoke, they could now see that area clearly enough to make out the redhead knelt in front of the tent, peering inside, as well as the hooded figure standing behind her with a sword poised to behead her. With her too preoccupied to look for the kids, it didn't look like she would notice her would-be killer in time.
Briefly, Zeke contemplated whether he should take it upon himself to save her. So long as it didn't sever his spine, any injury he would get as a result would heal, given enough time. As an added benefit, it would indebt not only her but also Levi, to him. However, the blur of motion that passed him brought him to realize that he wouldn't have to after all, when he spotted Levi making a beeline for the unsuspecting Scout.
And then...
"Julian! Now!"
At Floch's order that caused Natalie to whip around and finally notice the man standing near her, the Scout went airborne with the help of his gear just as Levi reached the redhead.
"Tch..." Levi scowled, turning to check on Natalie before he would follow that idiot and finish him off. "Are you alright?"
"Yes, I—"
"Run!"
The demand that echoed in her head stunned her for a moment, making her swallow her words. Acting on instinct, she looked up just in time to see Julian throwing an explosive at them. It seemed like forever that she watched it falling—though it was really only a fraction of a second—before her body obeyed and moved. Turning to Levi, she saw his eyes widening as realization set in, heard the breath that left him when she slammed into his body and wrapped her arms around him, using every ounce of strength she possessed to push him as far away as possible. She saw Zeke over his shoulder, staring at them in silent shock, saw Floch's murderous grin.
She heard... at first she thought it sounded like Falco calling her name, but his voice was swallowed by the blast that hit her ears like a hammer, by Levi's pained shout, and then her own voice being wrenched out of her in an agonizing, throat-tearing shriek just before darkness took her.